The University of Pennsylvania MSTP is currently in its 32nd year of continuous funding, and is the only one providing support for both MD-PhD and VMD-PhD trainees. The goal of the program is to identify, train and mentor outstanding men and women who will become teachers, scholars, and the leaders of biomedical and veterinary research. To accomplish this goal, we have established training plans that emphasize the integration of the two degrees in preparation for careers that will make use of both. The large institutional commitment to this goal is reflected by the sizeable investment that the medical and veterinary schools have made in this program, providing it with resources that are used to help cover tuition and stipends costs, provide enrichment activities and support administration of the program. In the current year there are 153 MD-PhD and 21 VMD-PhD trainees at Penn, 101 of whom have been supported in part by this grant. They are a talented and diverse group of individuals. Approximately 38% are women and 13% are members of underrepresented minority groups. The selection process emphasizes academic excellence, relevant research experience, creativity, letters of recommendation and a well-articulated plan for a career in biomedical investigation. Most trainees do graduate work in the biomedical laboratory sciences, but 10% of our trainees are enrolled in Biomedical Engineering, Health Care Economics (Wharton), History &Sociology of Science, and Epidemiology. On the alumni side, there have been 354 MD-PhD graduates and 52 VMD-PhD graduates thru AY 2006. Follow-up information on essentially all of them is included in the proposal. Approximately 80% of the MD-PhD alumni and 80% of VMD-PhD alumni who have completed postgraduate training are doing research in academic centers, institutes or industry. Many have NIH or other extramural funding for their research. Very few have entered private practice, an outcome considered contrary to the aims of both training programs. Many are on the faculty of universities and research institutes. Based on this track record, our goals for the future include 1) continued growth of the program to reach a steady state of 160-170 MD-PhD and at least 40 VMD-PhD students, 2) further integration of the graduate and professional degrees, 3) a continued emphasis on attracting and training individuals who are uniquely well prepared for careers in the discovery and application of new knowledge through basic, translational and patient-oriented research, and 4) participation in the development at Penn of postgraduate programs that will help MD-PhD and VMD-PhD graduates make a successful transition to independent investigators.